The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens
Episodes
Threats to U.S. Security: Aging Infrastructure, Fragile Systems, and Information Warfare with Dan O'Connor
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The threats facing the United States' stability seem to be escalating daily - from aging electric grids and deteriorating infrastructure to rising inf...
The Lost Art of Grieving: Grief as Ritual, Resistance, and Resilience with Francis Weller
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Western culture, particularly in the United States, is often characterized by a profound discomfort and suppression of grief. Without healthy outlets ...
Snow, The Singularity, and Rocks in the River | Frankly 88
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the world continued its increasingly chaotic series of events this week - with disruptive events in everything from politics to artificial intellig...
2000-Watt Society: The Realities of Living a Low(er) Energy Lifestyle with Peter Strack
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Caught between increasing energy prices and rising carbon emissions, the idea of reducing our energy consumption is a practical and forward-looking ne...
(Some of) The Central Questions of Our Time | Frankly 87
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The period of relative peace and stability we've known - enabled by the energy surplus of the Carbon Pulse and the ecological stability of the Holocen...
Wisdom Over Power: Why Contemplation & Wonder Are Essential for the Future of Humanity with Iain McGilchrist
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on January 2nd, 2025) When looking at our global challenges, it can be easier to focus on the external factors that coul...
What is Wealth? | Frankly 86
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded February 18th, 2025) Individually and collectively, we have become fixated on the pursuit and accumulation of wealth. But what is wealth?...
The 'Decline' of Nations: How Elite Surplus and Inequality Lead to Societal Upheaval with Peter Turchin
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on November 22nd, 2024) The first few months of the new year have brought a cacophony of political news and power plays, bri...
The Light Triad | Frankly 85
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded February 12th, 2025) Deception and self-interest seem to be increasingly prevalent in our modern cultural reality. From the highest level...
Reimagining the Cultural Narrative: Art and Storytelling for Systemic Change with Dougald Hine
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on November 12th, 2024) In today's modern era, the overwhelming flood of information that constantly flows our way can l...
The Plastic Crisis: A Health and Environmental Emergency | Reality Roundtable 15
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on January 21st, 2025) Many of us are familiar with the problem of plastics as a distant issue in the ocean, primarily affe...
Share Your Story: A Call for Responses to The Great Simplification | Frankly 84
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Link to record and submit your story There are further directions on the video submission site to set you up for success when recording. Most of all, ...
Always Adding More: The Unpopular Reality about Energy Transitions with Jean-Baptiste Fressoz
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on November 6th, 2024) The vision of a carbon-free, net-zero society is often framed around the promise of transitioning...
Artificial Intelligence and the Lost Ark | Frankly 83
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded January 27th, 2025) We live in an era where artificial intelligence increasingly dominates the headlines with promises of revolutionary a...
The Uncertain Future of Oil: Energy Poverty, Depletion, and 'Green' Ambitions with Scott Tinker
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on October 30th, 2024) Human consumption of fossil fuels - especially oil - is a topic filled with complexity, tension, ...
Power vs Life: Towards Wide Boundary Sovereignty | Frankly 82
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded January 20th, 2025) We are alive at a critical juncture for human civilization, and the biosphere, where the pursuit and accumulation of pow...
Navigating International Crises: The Evolving Challenges for Humanitarian Organizations with Birgitte Bischoff
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on December 18th, 2024) With the increase in geopolitical conflicts, supply chain challenges, and unprecedented natural ...
The Future is Local: Bioregioning 101
19 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on December 11th, 2024) The past century has been marked by the rise of globalization in every sense of the word - throu...
Reality and Perseverance in India: Pollution, Poverty, and Policy with Sunita Narain
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on December 4th, 2024) It is an unfortunate reality that the countries least responsible for the climate and ecological ...
The Meaning Crisis: Wisdom, Purpose, and the Search for Coherence with John Vervaeke
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on November 25th, 2024) The crises that our world is facing seem to be constantly growing, leading to enormous and devastati...
Best of TGS: What Would You Do With a Magic Wand?
22 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This year on The Great Simplification, we heard from 54 guests, 18 Reality Roundtable panelists, and Nate shared his thoughts across 31 Frankly episod...
Time Travel & The Superorganism: A Movie Idea | Frankly 81
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded December 16, 2024) As we wrap up another year of thought-provoking discussions on The Great Simplification, Nate takes us on an imaginati...
The Great Simplification in Action: Building Resilience Through Local Communities with Christian Sawyer
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on November 7th, 2024) Long-time listeners of The Great Simplification may have a good grasp of the many impending crise...
"Thank You for Ruining My Life" | Frankly 80
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded December 5, 2024) It's not everyday that a stranger thanks you for 'ruining their life'. In this heartfelt Frankly, Nate reflects on a po...
The Baby Bust: How The Toxicity Crisis Could Cause the Next Economic Crash with Jeremy Grantham
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on November 5th, 2024) It is no secret that population dynamics significantly impact global stability. But what's really...
Shutting Off The Plastic Tap: A Global Treaty To Regulate Petrochemical Pollution? with Jane Muncke
08 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on December 2nd, 2024) One of the central ecological challenges of our time is addressing the plastic and petrochemical poll...
The Biggest Takeaways from the Logic of the Superorganism
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded November 26, 2024) As we piece together the different facets of our reality, the systems synthesis which emerges confronts us with some u...
Existential Risks: The Biggest Threats to Life as We Know It with Luke Kemp
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on October 22nd, 2024) The human system as we know it today – which powers our economies, global supply chains, and so...
A Brief Clarification on Human Behavior | Frankly 78
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded November 21, 2024) Two weeks ago, in a Frankly called The Battles of Our Time, Nate commented on human behavior and said that, in today's...
Energy Crises & Global Power Shifts: The Struggle for Stability in Israel, Iran, and Beyond | Helen Thompson
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on November 11th, 2024, prior to a ceasefire declared between Israel and Lebanon on November 27th, 2024) If you've followed ...
Future Council: How Children are Responding to our Planetary Crises with Damon Gameau and The Future Council
24 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on September 24th, 2024) It is frequently true that those who will inherit the greatest consequences of our climate cris...
7 Philosophies on the Future | Frankly 77
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded November 12, 2024) In last week's Frankly, Nate shared his thoughts on some of the polarities we'll need to harmonize as we journey towards ...
Fires in the Rainforest: The Impossible Economics of a Disappearing Amazon | André Guimarães
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on October 2nd, 2024) For millions of years, the Amazon Rainforest has been home to a stunning array of plant and animal spe...
The Battles of Our Time | Frankly 76
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded November 11, 2024) In today's complex geopolitical landscape, battles and tensions seem to exist everywhere we look. Power shifts and compou...
Carbon Sink to Carbon Source? How the Amazon Rainforest Could Become a Self-Drying Savanna | Carlos Nobre | TGS 150
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on September 25th, 2024) The Amazon Rainforest is one of the Earth's most vital systems, playing a key role in maintaini...
Regenerative Economics: New Economic Paradigms, Living Systems, & Holistic Thinking with John Fullerton
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on October 10th, 2024) Our modern economic system is designed to maximize financial capital, viewing money as though it we...
Somebody's Gonna Win | Frankly 75
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded October 27, 2024) Somebody is going to win the upcoming US election. In a society deeply divided along partisan lines, individual identit...
Preserving Democracy: A Call for Civility with Richard Gephardt
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on October 17th, 2024) As the trust in the U.S. presidential election process continues to be in question, alongside growi...
The Global Stakes of the U.S. Election: Debt, The Dollar, and Military Power | Reality Roundtable #12
27 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on October 16th, 2024) Ahead of the U.S. Presidential Election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, both of whom have...
The Foundational Challenge: Stewardship, Responsibility, and Designing a New System with Indy Johar
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on October 3rd, 2024) While humans, like all animals, are subject to certain fundamental realities, we also possess the un...
Ecological Awakening: A Path Toward Holistic Adulthood with Bill Plotkin
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on September 16th, 2024) Where have all the elders gone? As the world grapples with its unfolding economic and energy cri...
Planetary Health Check: The State of Earth's Critical Systems with Kari Stoever
13 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on September 25th, 2024) There has been much discussion lately of Planetary Boundaries – the 9 biophysical systems and pr...
The Lament of the Bigfoot | Frankly 74
11 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded October 7, 2024) In a polarized and fractured society, those who draw attention to the ecological devastation wrought by human activities...
Inner Development Goals: Cultivating Change from the Inside Out with Erik Fernholm
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on September 5th, 2024) The deeper we dive into the complexity of the metacrisis, the more it becomes apparent that the chan...
Tales from the Carbon Pulse | Reality Roundtable 11
06 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on August 6th, 2024) The damaging effects of humanity's disconnected relationship to Earth's ecosystems are broad and de...
The Superorganism and the Self | Frankly 73
04 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded September 30, 2024) Nate's work tends to focus on systems-level analysis of the current (and future) global macro/ecological situation. B...
Rooted in Connection: Exploring the Hidden Ties in Earth's Forests with Suzanne Simard
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on August 13th, 2024) Humanity's relationship with Earth's forests is long and complex. While some societies have preser...
What if Climate Change Was a Hoax? | Frankly 72
27 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded September 22, 2024) 14.8% of Americans do not believe in climate change. Recently, a study mapping a 485-million-year history of Earth's te...
History for Tomorrow: Uncovering Future Possibilities from Humanity's Past with Roman Krznaric
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on August 5th, 2024) While the global crises we face are on a larger scale than anything before, there is rich wisdom to gle...
Weakest Links: Depletion, Supply Chains, and Trust | Frankly 71
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded September 18 2024) Over past decades, abundance and peace have become the prevailing narratives in modern societies. The reality, as usual, ...
Global Heating 101: Rapid-Fire Answers to the Biggest Climate Questions with Stefan Rahmstorf
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on July 30th, 2024) The science surrounding our planet's dynamic and complex climate can be difficult to understand, and pe...
U.S. Full Spectrum Dominance: Nuclear Risks and The End of Empire with Jeffrey Sachs
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on September 3rd, 2024) As the United States continues to play a major role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, ...
Bioregional Futures: Reconnecting to Place for Planetary Health with Daniel Christian Wahl
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on July 24th, 2024) In the past century of abundant energy surplus, humanity's globalized, large-scale approach to problem-...
The Physics of Connection: Understanding Relationships and Ecology with Fritjof Capra
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on May 8th, 2024) Without a systems lens, the full reality of the human predicament will never be understood. It is only wh...
The Art of Movement Building: Personal Liberation for Public Change with Mamphela Ramphele
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on July 17th, 2024) Addressing the risks we face on a global scale is a challenge that can feel both enormous in execution ...
Ask Me Anything - Your Questions About TGS Answered | Frankly 70
16 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded August 11, 2024) The content of The Great Simplification (on Youtube and in real life) can be complex, nuanced and multi-faceted. In today's...
The Population Problem: Human Impact, Extinctions, and the Biodiversity Crisis with Corey Bradshaw
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on July 25th, 2024) Show Summary: Human overpopulation is often depicted in the media in one of two ways: as either a cat...
Goldilocks Technology - A Preliminary Checklist | Frankly 69
09 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded August 5 2024) As a problem-solving species, technology is an embedded part of the human experience – we assess, innovate, invent and adap...
Biomimicry: Applying Nature's Wisdom to Human Problems with Janine Benyus
07 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on June 25th, 2024) Although artificial intelligence tends to dominate conversations about solving our most daunting global...
Overshoot and Its 7 Fundamental Drivers | Frankly 68
02 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded July 23 2024) Description In this week's Frankly, (coincidentally released the day after Earth Overshoot Day), Nate breaks down seven facto...
Planetary Boundaries: Exceeding Earth's Safe Limits with Johan Rockström
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on June 19th, 2024) Show Summary: While the mainstream conversation about our planet's future is heavily dominated by the...
The Ecology of Communication: Moving Beyond Polarization in Service of Life | Reality Roundtable 10
28 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on June 14th, 2024) Show Summary: There's a growing understanding of the need for biodiversity across ecosystems for a he...
The Solutions that can be Named are not the Solutions | Frankly #67
26 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded July 23 2024 In this week's Frankly, Nate addresses the common desire for solutions to the human predicament - and why the championing of ...
Indigenous Wisdom: Resilience, Adaptation, and Seeing Nature as Ourselves with Casey Camp-Horinek
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on June 12th, 2024) Show Summary: As we move through difficult cultural transitions and rethink our governance systems, i...
The Reality Party | Frankly #66
19 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded July 16 2024 Description Following the attempted assassination of former United States President Donald J. Trump, Nate reflects on the ...
Silicon Dreams and Carbon Nightmares: The Wide Boundary Impacts of AI with Daniel Schmachtenberger
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on June 27th, 2024) Show Summary: Artificial intelligence has been advancing at a break-neck pace. Accompanying this is ...
And Then What?: Using Wide-Boundary Lenses | Frankly 65
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded July 8 2024) There are many so-called 'solutions' out there that, upon first glance, seem like great ideas - yet when we look beyond the nar...
Eat, Poop, Die: Animals as the Arteries of the Biosphere with Joe Roman
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on June 14th, 2024) Show Summary: If plants are considered the lungs of the Earth, cycling CO2 into oxygen for animals to...
Living Your Questions: A Pathway Through the Unanswerable with Krista Tippett
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on May 16th, 2024) Show Summary: At the intersection between science and spirituality lies some of the most profound ques...
The 20 Control Knobs for a Post-Growth Future | Frankly 64
28 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's Frankly, Nate shares twenty different things to expect in the future, some which will be extremely difficult to influence but others wh...
The Flip, the Formation, and the Fun: A Metamodern Framework for Human Futures with Jonathan Rowson
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on April 24th, 2024) Show Summary: Engaging with the human predicament requires new ways of understanding the world - nov...
Sound Thinking: Using Music, Resonance, and Harmonics for Human Wellbeing with Alexandre Tannous
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on May 1st, 2024) Show Summary: Music has been an integral part of the human experience for thousands of years, and continu...
Material World: The Key Resources Underpinning Modern Economies with Ed Conway
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on May 7th, 2024) Show Summary: In contrast to 'The Great Simplification', some might call the events of the last few hun...
The Next Generation's Dilemma: Confronting the Metacrisis | Reality Roundtable #9
09 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on May 8th, 2024) Show Summary: As the human predicament continues to accelerate, the conversations regarding the future ...
Daniel Schmachtenberger: "Moving from Naive to Authentic Progress: A Vision for Betterment"
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on May 5th, 2024) Show Summary: In this episode, Nate welcomes back Daniel Schmachtenberger to unpack a new paper, which ...
Nuclear Conflict: 7 Key Questions for Sustainable Futures | Frankly #63
31 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Recorded May 28, 2024) Description In this week's Frankly, Nate offers an update on the current state of conflict between NATO and Russia and the inc...
Vanessa Andreotti: "Hospicing Modernity and Rehabilitating Humanity"
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on March 25th, 2024) Show Summary: In this episode, Nate is joined by educator and researcher Vanessa Andreotti to discuss wh...
Levke Caesar: "Oceanic Slowdown: Decoding the AMOC"
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Conversation recorded on April 23rd, 2024) Show Summary: On this episode, Nate is joined by climate physicist Levke Caesar for a comprehensive ...
Special Request & Community Announcement
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
UPDATE: We are no longer accepting survey submissions. Thanks for your feedback! Greetings! As we look ahead to the future of our podcast and organiz...
Chris Keefer: "Empowering the Future: from Nuclear to Podcasting"
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Nate is joined by ER doctor, nuclear power advocate, and podcast host Chris Keefer for a broad ranging conversation including the bas...
The Indic Mind: An Approach to the Metacrisis | Reality Roundtable 8
12 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this Reality Roundtable, Nate is joined by Mohit Trivedi, Abhishek Thakore, and Kejal Savla, three NGO leaders in India active in driving social an...
Zak Stein: "Values, Education, AI and the Metacrisis"
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Nate is joined by philosopher and educator Zak Stein to discuss the current state of education and development for children during a ...
Pella Thiel: "Criminalizing Ecocide: The Rights of Nature"
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Nate is joined by maverick ecologist Pella Thiel to discuss the legal frameworks behind the Ecocide and Rights of Nature Movements. O...
7 Thought Experiments for Earth Day | Frankly #62
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded April 22 2024 Description For this Earth Day in 2024 Frankly, Nate walks through 7 thought experiments geared towards imagining scenari...
Tom Chi: "Net Positive for the Planet – from Beavers to Bionics"
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Nate is joined by inventor and investor Tom Chi to take a broad look at the principles guiding innovation and capital - and how we mi...
The Strait of Hormuz and 'the Spice' | Frankly #61
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded April 17 2024 Description In this week's Frankly, Nate focuses on the importance of the Strait of Hormuz, a geographic location within a 7...
Luther Krueger: "Goldilocks Tech? A Solar Oven Overview"
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Nate is joined by Solar Oven collector and educator Luther Krueger to discuss the ins and outs of solar cooking. In the western world...
The 17 Things I Am 100% Certain About | Frankly #60
12 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded April 8 2024 Description In this week's Frankly, Nate offers a list of things he is absolutely certain of… or as certain as any human ca...
Michael Every: "The Many -Isms of the Metacrisis"
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Nate is joined by financial analyst Michael Every to discuss global macro trends in economics, politics, and social movements. By tak...
7 Meta Questions About Our Global Metabolism | Frankly #59
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded April 4 2024 Description Based on this week's podcast episode with Geoffrey West, which covered how biological scaling applies to human...
Geoffrey West: "Metabolism and the Hidden Laws of Biology"
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, physicist Geoffrey West joins Nate to discuss his decades of work on metabolic scaling laws found in nature and how they apply to hum...
The Fellowship of the Ring - 'Bend Not Break' Version | Frankly 58
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this Frankly, Nate recasts his favorite book series, the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, with some speculative "archetypes" of our...
Riane Eisler: "Domination and Partnership in Society"
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Nate is joined by systems scientist Riane Eisler to discuss her decades of work studying 'domination' and 'partnership' societies thr...
Information Bifurcation | Frankly #57
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded March 19 2024 Description In this Frankly, Nate reflects on ten dichotomies that he sees prevalent in our current culture of informatio...
Patrick Knodel: "Question Everything - Towards Cooperation & Change"
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Nate is joined by impact investor Patrick Knodel to discuss how philanthropy and non-profit work might make positive change beyond th...
Chuck Watson: "NATO in Ukraine: from Proxy to Participants"
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this special episode, risk analyst Chuck Watson returns to discuss the current state of the conflict in Ukraine and the potential for escalation. W...
Lyn Alden: "The Myth of Frictionless Finance"
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Nate is joined by investment strategist Lyn Alden to discuss how energy and technology have shaped our monetary system and current fi...
Peak Oil, AI, and the Straw | Frankly #56
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded March 5 2024 Description In this Frankly, Nate shares his perspective on the new all-time high in oil production in the context of AI's ...
Samantha Sweetwater: "Life at the Center"
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, thought leader and ceremonial guide Samantha Sweetwater joins Nate to share her journey through mysticism and guiding others through ...
7 Key Interventions for the Future | Frankly #55
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded February 26 2024 Description In this Frankly, Nate shares insights on his personal/organizational priorities as a lead up to outlining ...